And the winners are ……

One of the biggest compliments one can receive is recognition from one’s peers - the accolades that come from those with whom you work. Those who typically receive them are humble, unassuming, and passionate about their work and the industry in which they are involved. They do what they do not for the recognition but for the love of the job, the company for which they work, the people with whom they work and the industry they serve.

This morning the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA) during the Q&A Technology Forum in Orlando, Florida, recognized who it believes are the best of the best for 2008, and those in attendance agreed.

Lawrence Lew of Chevron, Glenn Liolios of DuPont Stratco and Elizabeth Mettee of Grace Davison were called out for years of service to the organization as well as the industry itself. These individuals each received a Peter G. Andrews Lifetime Service Award, which began in 2003 to “honor members who have made long-lasting contributions to the value and vitality of the NPRA Q&A Meeting. Recipients of this award have served as Q&A panelists, screening committee members and active participants in the dialogue that is fundamental to the meeting.” These recipients, throughout their career, have “demonstrated a willingness to pass on their knowledge and expertise to future generations in this forum, have made significant contributions to the meeting’s quality and have emphasized the importance of sharing knowledge in making continuous improvements.”

In discussing this event with a friend of mine afterward, he said, “I would feel odd about getting a lifetime achievement award. Doesn’t that basically mean that people believe that you are of absolutely no value once you get that award?”

Lew alluded to a similar thought during his acceptance speech (much more eloquently put than my friend’s response) in which he said, “A lifetime award? I didn’t even know I was sick.”

Lew noted the changes of the industry and organization during his tenure, in which he’s seen companies disappear, new companies arise and “even small nations have merged, such as Exxon and Mobil.” He noted the evolution of NPRA along with the industry, to more accurately reflect the needs of the industry. NPRA, he said, used to have large panel sessions in which 10 to 12 people sat at long tables trying to talk about and answer everything in the industry. This became cumbersome, and with some people filling in and giving presentations for others — some without the same knowledge — questions were met with answers, including “there will be more information in the transcript,” Lew said, “which usually meant, ‘I don’t know the answer to that, but I’ll find out,’” which could take a few months, he admitted.

So one change has been the reduction of panel members and more concise topics that ensures “the answer is more clean and crisp and when you ask a question, you’re going to get an answer then and there.”

Liolios noted the passion he feels for what he does, and believes that is the key to longevity and happiness in the industry. And we all know one of the biggest challenges this — as well as almost every other — industry faces is knowledge transfer and the need for new bodies to replace those who are moving on.

“I think it really comes down to, do you have a passion for what you do, and are you willing to share that knowledge? I really appreciate being acknowledged here because my passion is this industry. I am in the scouting industry, and one of my sayings is, ‘leave a place better than you found it,’ and I really believe I’ve done that with NPRA,” Liolios said after receiving the award.

Mettee, who started with Grace Davison in 1974, shared a medley of “historical” photos with the audience from past NPRA shows as well as Grace Davison events. One of the most interesting sets of slides included Grace coffee mugs from NPRA shows dating from 1970 through today. These were interspersed among photos of events passed, and attendees laughed as they saw themselves or peers in pictures dating 20 or more years.

The event was lively, the mood was light, the reflections were sincere and the messages were the same: “We fully believe in your mission and everything you guys do; we’re tremendously supportive of you,” Mettee said of NPRA.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 at 9:56 am and is filed under Management, Out and About, Refining, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.